Digital Legal
Systems Lab
A place for grounded experimentation, case studies &
moving beyond the theoretical.
Law creates a base infrastructure for New Zealand society(This includes not just rules, but principles, norms, values, discretion, and judgement)
Increasingly, this infrastructure is being supplemented or replaced by computers and digital systems. In particular, law frequently requires people to do things, and more and more they are using digital systems to do these things.
When digital systems operate, they can have good or bad effects and produce outcomes with massive significance.
Over time, we have seen nation states, judicial bodies, the world’s largest companies, and human rights advocates become interested in how digital systems are designed because of their legal effects and their wider effects on the public interest. Many of the world’s most valuable companies produce software that enables users to perform regulated tasks.
How might we improve the interaction of law and digital systems?
We believe the way forward is through safe and effective experimentation where we learn from experience. This will build capacity, capability and expertise, as well as creating opportunities for collaboration and improvement.